Unpublished Editorial

“L’etat, c’est moi.”
—Apocryphal saying attributed to Louis XIV of France

Here’s a fun quiz for the Nebraska Congressional delegation. It’s an easy Yes/No quiz — only one-word answers are required, and that one word is “Yes” or “No.”

Why insist on this? Because in the world of politics, skill is often displayed by not answering the question.

To accommodate that political reality, none of these questions requires elaboration. Each is the presentation of a documented action regarding the president or his administration, followed by a version of the question: Do you agree with this?

Anyway, let’s get started.

1. According to the Washington Post, Elon Musk has no official role in DOGE. Folks in Congress know that Executive branch officers (such as Cabinet Secretaries) must be Senate-approved, and even lower-level officers must occupy roles defined by statute. Do you agree with putting a non-vetted corporate titan in charge of a massive federal undertaking, given that he has no “official” role and therefore cannot be subjected to oversight by Congress?

2. According to former Labor secretary Robert Reich, “When Trump took office, the National Labor Relations Board had 24 investigations into Musk’s corporations for violating workers’ rights. But…Trump fired three officials at that agency, effectively stalling the board’s ability to rule on cases.” Is that okay with you? 

3. Trump also fired Justice Department prosecutors who worked on January 6 cases. Do you agree these non-political public servants should be fired for following the evidence of  now-documented January 6 crimes, as directed by their politically appointed superiors at the Justice Department? 

4. Trump pardoned jailed supporters who violently attacked the Capitol and injured police in their attempt to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory. Some have since been arrested for other crimes. Do you support these blanket pardons, along with Trump’s portrayal of January 6 offenders as innocent “hostages” as justification for the pardons?

5. Oh, and by the way, did Joe Biden win the 2020 election? 

Of course, in a world helmed by authoritarians, lesser authorities have no objective reality or traditional morality to draw upon when questioned. In such regimes, the truth is whatever the current leadership says it is. It’s the same for what is “good” or “bad”. What is true, good or bad changes over time; but such changes are not acknowledged, only implemented. Because what is true today has always been true. 

And tomorrow? Tomorrow’s truth, though different than today’s, will be equally unassailable.

In such systems, the plasticity of “political” truths goes without saying. Because saying something could land you in hot water. Remember that gallows the Trump mob erected on January 6?

So this should be the easiest question for you all, the quiet observers and “no comment” Congressional enablers of Trumpism: 

6. When this president violates the law, is it your preference that we all simply look the other way? 

Just yesterday, Trump posted, in his curious random capitalization style and without context, a quote sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law”. 

The quote, which is actually from the largely Soviet-financed 1970 theatrical film Waterloo, begins with  the Napoleon character musing as he dictates a letter: “I did not usurp the crown. I found it, in the gutter, and I picked it up with my sword. And it was the people, Alexis, the people who put it on my head.”

A victorious savior crowned by the people! What law—or lawmaker—can compete with that? 

7. So—regarding that golden-crowned “Long Live the King” Trump portrait the White House tweeted yesterday…you know what? Forget it. How could your answers matter? We are now all bystanders at Trump’s glorious Battle of Austerlitz. Whatever comes of it will belong to him.

Perhaps, in the end and with your continued laissez-faire approach to Congressional oversight, Trump will whip up just as much glory for Americans as Napoleon did for the French. I think I’ll see if Waterloo is available on Netflix this weekend.